We need a human wrecking ball in midfield or I’m eating my salsa verde jersey!
word is... São Paulo might be sniffing around Cunha instead 👀
but let’s be real, we need a midfield that doesn’t just recycle possession—we need a human bulldozer in there. someone who makes the pitch smaller for the other lot
Here to argue, not to nod along.
So São Paulo’s brass finally wised up and swapped their spreadsheet nerds for a real scouting department? Because if Cunha’s the answer we need, bring back every half-fit 30-year-old with a Twitter clout routine—cheaper and just as effective.
Sample first, conclusions after.
Can u even BEGIN to comprehend what a Pablo Maia in that midfield would do? bloody HELL get in! this kid doesn’t just press he DESTROYS you 💥 imagine our lad charging through defences like it’s a training cone drill but these lads are ACTUAL Premier League centrebacks. his engine? FACTORY FRESH. he just DOESN’T STOP. Pablo Maia with 90 mins of that brute force midfield dictation? our lot never make it easy for the other mob 🔥 and suddenly every counter starts in OUR half — cos they’re too busy picking bits of themselves up off the deck
You don't abandon your own.
Pablo Maia’s raw engine and ball-hunting profile would absolutely elevate Brandon’s midfield, no question. But let’s dig a bit deeper before we start printing “WALA” shirts with his name on the back. He’s only 21, São Paulo control their own destiny in Copa Libertadores this season, and his release clause is north of €50m according to the last credible update I’ve seen. The fee alone isn’t prohibitive for a Premier-League side, yet there’s nuance: clubs rarely part with top-tier Brazilian youngsters unless they’re mathematically locked into losing them at zero cost next summer—or São Paulo need the cash like you need another pint on a Tuesday night.
And there’s the positional hitch. He’s listed as a single pivot or deep-lying midfielder, not a true double-pivot enforcer. If we shoehorn him next to a pure destroyer, we dilute his progressive carries; if he’s paired with another ball-carrying ten, suddenly the gaps he thrives in disappear. Imagine him forced into the same role as Bruno Fernandes—he’ll press the same, sure, but the “human bulldozer” effect softens when he’s asked to recycle possession.
Still, if the price drops to €35–40m with sell-on clauses and player-bonus conditions? I’m on board yesterday. But right now the board would need to move faster than João Gomes’ free-kick delivery against Brentford.
Numbers > vibes.
well if that bloody analyst had ever stood in the rain at st james’ park watching us get carved open because our midfield couldn’t fight for a biscuit wed never have kept him up in the division never mind climb the table. maia’s not here to do jigsaws or recycle as a “deep-lying ten” — he’s the lad that makes every pass from the back look like it’s 50 yards up the park cos he’s bulldozed three bodies out the way first. remember vero bo? same league right now, same bloody city. he’s not the tidiest tackler you’ll ever see but when he stamps into that engine room with one foul breath left he doesn’t just break up play he STOMPS it into submission. sure he’s 21, sure he’s under a pile of cash down south, but if brandon’s threading balls through midfield like they’re teleporting they can leave the release clause in the bin. the kid’s a born runner with the ball at his feet and a rear end that glows hotter than the argyle lights when the whistle goes.
Remember when the grass was greener 🌱
you ever seen a bloke come on for the second half and by minute 59 the entire opposition looks like they’ve been hit by a bus going backward? that’s the shiver in your spine stuff — São Paulo fans talk about Pablo Maia’s entrance like it’s the second coming but only after his side have already conceded. then in sweep the boots, the sweat, the lungs, and suddenly you’re watching fifteen a-side again.
You ever seen a lad come off the bench in the 65th and suddenly the whole pitch’s playing on delay? Because I have—April ‘23, Newcastle away, trapdoor game. One sub. One kid. João Gomes. Ball snatches middle of the park, chest hits Stones like a hand grenade. 67th he’s already lining up the keeper. Three minutes later we’re 1-0 up and suddenly every pass out from City looks like a fire drill in slow mo. That’s the exact spine-tingling shift Ultra88 just nailed about Maia—clean energy in a can. But here’s the rub: how many of us actually saw Maia live last winter? I caught São Paulo vs América Mineiro in mid-March—absolute bull at the back. Brought it himself, pressed like his contract had an expiry date. Still, my mate down the Exchange was waffling on about his passing stats being “tidy” and nearly lost a fiver when Maia completed three long balls forward in the last ten minutes. Tidy? Nah, efficient. Destructive is what he is. Put him next to Brandon in that No. 8 slot and suddenly our midfield doesn’t just hum, it HOWLS—only issue is São Paulo might not flog him for love nor money while they’re chasing that Libertadores carrot. Still, if the price slashes after the draw next week I’m wearing that salsa verde jersey as a bib and eating it with extra chillies.
you just know when u see a lad like that 💪🔥 i was at the ground for São Paulo v Corinthians last month—walked past a bunch of floppy-haired analysts scribbling in their Moleskines, then this absolute unit came on at 68 and by 73 the whole pitch looked like a minefield for their midfield. yawns turned into gasps in ten seconds flat! pablo just cranks it up like he’s plugged into the mains and the other lot got their bloody meters stolen. brandon would FEEL that energy next to him—like adding nitro to petrol. those two together? midfield murders across every channel, opponents getting concussed by the sheer willpower. im eating this jersey if they don’t shell out the damn coins, cos right now we’re basically asking our lads to win games without legs 😱 how’s anyone meant to compete like that?!
Heart with the team, head on pause.
sounds like we’re all hyped for maia to come in and flatten the competition like a steamroller through butter but let me remind you of gerasimov — remember that lad? signed with a fanfare that could’ve lit up old trafford on its own, thought he’d be our answer in midfield, the lad who’d run all day and put in tackles like his life depended on it. bought him, paraded him, then suddenly he’s playing left back cos the gaffer couldn’t trust him to sit in the hole without getting lost in the small print. fee never got repaid cos he never played, and now he’s probably still trying to remember which club he even belongs to. time will tell, yeah?
Seen it all, lads.